There are few assignments more pleasurable for a journalist than those given out by the travel editor. So when I was asked if I'd like to write for this section I enthusiastically said yes as visions of sipping cocktails on a Thai beach or diligently checking out the shopping opportunities in New York popped into my head.

Then the editor followed her question with: 'Great. You come from East Yorkshire, don't you?'

Readers not familiar with holidaying in the area can be forgiven. As fond as I am of it, East Yorkshire lacks the grandeur of the Yorkshire Dales to the west and the beauty of North Yorkshire's seaside resorts. In fact, if I'm honest, I couldn't think of a single reason why anyone would want to go there for a short break.

I was heading to Howden, which is just off the motorway near Goole and not very far from Hull, to stay in the intriguingly named Straw Bale Cabin.

The cabin is the labour of love of Carol Atkinson, a former accountant who turned her back on the profession to pursue an MSc in environmentally aware architecture. Her cabin was built both as a project on which to base her thesis and as a holiday home.

In keeping with her eco credentials Carol encourages visitors to arrive by train at Howden, where she will collect them. However, as we set off on a drizzly Friday night from London we were, I'm ashamed to say, travelling up in 'the monster', a borrowed Mitsubishi Animal and a car my boyfriend pointed out was probably the least eco-friendly vehicle he had ever driven.

Approximately £70 of diesel later, we were nearly at our destination when I called Carol to ask for directions to the local pub and a taxi number, as we had made it in time for last orders. She helped us out with the necessary information then texted: 'It's not too far to walk, or you could cycle. The bikes are in the passageway and the bike lights are in the cupboard under the sink.'

We liked the idea but it was late and dark and we were hungry so we succumbed to the local cab firm. The cabin itself is tucked away in front of a lake behind Carol's farmhouse down a country lane just outside of Howden. It may be called Straw Bale Cabin, but as you approach there's not a stalk of the yellow stuff in sight. The cabin is built from bales of straw but it's plastered with lime render so from the outside looks like any other sweet little whitewashed cottage.

Inside, it's amazingly warm even with no heating on and the rain lashing down outside. Apparently, the straw walls make it 10C warmer than a conventional mobile home. And the interior is just as cosy-looking as the exterior, with wooden floors and white-washed walls. The kitchen is basic but modern and there is one double bedroom.

My boyfriend interrupted my happy exploration of the cabin by saying: 'You might want to look at the bathroom.' I did. It all looked very nice: clean, modern and white with all the bits you could need... The toilet, however, was not, it turned out, all that it seemed. I lifted the lid and saw nothing but a hole, at the bottom of which sat a pile of sawdust. Next to the seat was a box of more sawdust with instructions for how to use it and under what, er, circumstances. Suddenly this break seemed intimate in ways I never could have imagined.

We set about exploring the local attractions over the next couple of days - trips into Hull, which is undergoing something of a renaissance, the market town of Beverley with its pretty tea rooms and antique shops, and an outstanding meal in the Pipe and Glass pub in South Dalton. But to my mind, it is holidaymakers who have a specific interest in eco-build and environment-friendly holidays who will want to visit, not tourists wanting a taste of Yorkshire.

We met Carol on the day we were leaving and she ran through the cabin's impressive eco-credentials - features which, all credit to her, we had barely noticed as the cabin feels like any other cosy holiday home. Its energy is provided by a micro wind turbine and solar panels. Like most of the materials, the straw used to build the body of the house is local - in this case from a neighbouring farm. The only sign of it is in the tiny round, glass 'honesty window' - apparently integral to all straw-built homes - set in one wall of the sitting room allowing you to see the straw. Quirky touches include the beams in the lounge and the bedroom, which were made from the farm's old barn door, and the hanging rails in the wardrobe, which were salvaged from the old milking parlour.

Carol is running courses on straw-bale construction and, from July, will offer instruction in lime and clay plastering. She is also working on her second eco-build project on the other side of the farmyard: a two-bedroom cottage that will be big enough to cater for families and, crucially, will be fully plumbed - including a flush toilet.

· To rent the cabin for a week costs between £245 and £280, and for the weekend between £150 and £165 depending on the time of year. For more information on booking and courses see the website at homegrownhome.co.uk or telephone 01430 410662.

If you liked the sound of that...

Llwyn-Dryssi, Near Lampeter, West Wales

Some 2,500 wine bottles are used to insulate the limecrete floor in this recently restored, secluded thatched cottage, which bans meat being consumed on the premises. The comfy duvets are spun from recycled plastic bottles, doormats are made from recycled rubber tyres and the underfloor heating uses green tariff electricity. Sleeps two.

Arrive by public transport, bike or electric car to these two recently converted farm buildings and you'll get a 10 per cent discount. Locally sourced slate and English oak have been used in the stylish houses. Solar panels heat some of the showers, a green tariff is used for electricity, most waste is recycled and an annual tree planting programme offsets the oil-fired equipment used on the farm. Within two years the farm plans to only use renewable energy sources, including wind turbines. Local journeys will also be made by an electric car while biodiesel will be used in diesel vehicles for longer trips. Both cottages sleep six.

It's the attention to detail that must make this light and airy cabin one of the most eco-friendly self-catering cottages in the UK, from the cotton nappies for hire to the recycled furniture, wind-up radio and wood pellet stove. Solar energy makes the hot water, sheep's wool is used for insulation; even the BBQ uses locally made charcoal. Sleeps four.

Local sheep's wool provides the insulation for the roof of this two-bedroom cottage near Ronga while power for the lighting, cooking and heating is generated from a water-driven electric turbine. Walls are insulated with a hemp and lime mix and the interior is decorated with organic paints and varnishes. Sleeps five.